Musiq Soulchild was born and raised in Philadelphia and grew up with his family--including eight brothers and sister]. As a teenager, he began plans for a career in music. He released his debut album, ''Aijuswanaseing'' (read: "I Just Want to Sing"), in 2000, which was well-received by critics and audiences. Musiq did much of his own songwriting, and most of the record was produced and co-written by Ivan "Orthodox" Barias and Carvin "Ransum" Haggins, then of the A Touch of Jazz production company headed by Jazzy Jeff, now of Karma Productions. The singles "Just Friends (Sunny)", "Love", and "Girl Next Door" received exposure in America mainly on the more underground music video network, MTV2, as well as on BET. His singles also received a good amount of airplay on urban and urban contemporary radio stations.
In 2002, he released his sophomore album, ''Juslisen'' (read: "Just Listen"), as simply ''Musiq''. He had continued urban and MTV2 success with its singles, "halfcrazy" and "dontchange", the former of which was one of the most played music videos on MTV2 in the summer of 2002 and during the year overall. Both videos also got substantial play during the year on VH1 Soul. The singles had heavily amounts of airplay on both urban and urban contemporary radio sations in 2002. He also gained exposure during that year by opening concerts for Alicia Keys.
In late 2002, Musiq contributed guest vocals to "Break You Off", the first single from The Roots' ''Phrenology'' album. Once again, its video got heavy play on MTV2 and VH1 Soul, as well as on MTV Jams. He also appeared in Santana's song "Nothing at All" which is featured in his 2002 album ''Shaman''.
In 2003, the singles and videos "forthenight" and "whoknows" from his third LP, ''Soulstar''. "forthenight" was one of VH1 Soul's most played videos of 2004, and also had a very successful run on American urban radio stations.
Recently, Musiq Soulchild (who has added the "Soulchild" to his moniker again) has parted ways with Def Soul and has signed with Atlantic Records. A new Musiq Soulchild album is slated for a spring 2007 release. He will be making guest appearances on rapper Lloyd Banks's ''Rotten Apple'', Talib Kweli "Eardrum", Black Ice "The Death of Willie Lynch", pay tribute to Soul music legends Earth Wind and Fire and appear on the soundtrack "Daddy's Little Girls".
Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing (I Just Want to Sing), in 2000, which included the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop single, "Just Friends (Sunny)". Musiq's second single, "Love", spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Musiq’s sophomore album, 2002's Juslisen (Just Listen), debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Charts and went platinum; "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange". In 2003, Musiq released his 3rd album, Soulstar. It included the singles "Forthenight" and "Whoknows".
After a four year break and changing his management to Solqi Management and his record label to Atlantic Records, in 2007, Musiq's released his fourth album Luvanmusiq (Love and Music) which included the singles "B.U.D.D.Y.", "Teachme", and "Makeyouhappy". His fifth album OnMyRadio was released on December 2, 2008. The lead single, "Radio" has posted on both Musiq's MySpace page and official website.
Musiq Soulchild has had 2 platinum albums, 2 gold albums and 7 hit singles. He has received awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train. Musiq has also earned award nominations from MTV, American Music Awards, NAACP, and 9 Grammy nominations, including 3 for his 2007 album Luvanmusiq. Besides being a successful recording artist, Musiq is notable for his creative and unique way of titling his albums and songs by ignoring the rules of capitalization, punctuation and spelling.
He recently performed at the Antigua & Barbuda first Romantic Rhythms Music Festival in the Caribbean which was held from June 12-15,2008 which features legendary artists such as Kenny Rogers, Brian McKnight, Lionel Richie, Keyshia Cole, Maxi Priest, Destra, Heather Headly, Shaggy and many other local artist from the island including The Burning Flames.
He has also made guest appearances on rapper Lloyd Banks's album Rotten Apple, Talib Kweli's Eardrum, The Roots's Phrenology (album), Black Ice's The Death of Willie Lynch and pays tribute to soul music legends Earth Wind and Fire, appearing on the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's movie Daddy's Little Girls. And Ice Cube announced that Musiq will appear on his upcoming album, Raw Footage. He also lent a song from his latest album Luvanmusiq to the soundtrack for Perry's later movie Why Did I Get Married?. He then recorded a remake of Arrested Development's song "People Everyday" with British rapper Estelle for the soundtrack to Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns entitled "People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)".
Outside of music, he has been featured in television and print ads for McDonald's, Nike, Inc., Coca-Cola, Levi Strauss & Co. and The Gap. He also made a special appearance in The CW's #1 comedy The Game on Monday, October 29, 2007.
Thereason
Musiq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were always there to help and support my dreams
And you've encouraged me to see
And want so much more out of life
And you said never mind your fears,
Cause soon they will pass in time
And I want to thank you see cause
All I am and all that I will ever be
Is because of you and I am proud to say
That you helped make me into what I am today
I applaud you for being so patient with me
All I am and all that I will ever be
Is because of you and I am proud to say
No one else could do what you have done for me
You mean the world to me (yeah)
There were times when I was so
Frustrated with you
I felt I didn't want you no more
But then I realized
That without you I would be so alone (yeah)
But I chose to deal with you,
Whether right or wrong and I'm so glad I did cause
[Chorus]
See you cause and changed my life
You turned an empty heart to work of art
And open my eyes to the world
I would have never known, for that I'm grateful
You are my pride and my joy
The closest thing to me next to the God above
And will forever be my first love
And I'm always gonna give my all to you
The song "Thereason" by Musiq is a tribute to the person who has had a significant impact on the singer's life, possibly a mentor or a close friend. The lyrics express gratitude and appreciation to this person for being there to encourage, support, and inspire the singer to achieve his dreams and become the person he is today. The singer acknowledges that there were times when he was frustrated with this person, but he ultimately came to realize that he needed this support to succeed.
The chorus of the song, "All I am and all that I will ever be is because of you, and I am proud to say that you helped make me into what I am today," sums up the message of the song. The singer acknowledges that his success is not just his own, but is also the result of the support, guidance, and encouragement he received from this person.
The lyrics are heartfelt and genuine, and the melody is soulful and uplifting, making the song a moving tribute to the power of mentoring and friendship. The song reminds us of the importance of having someone to look up to and to guide us on our journey through life.
Line by Line Meaning
Back when I was just me
When I was still struggling to find myself
You were always there to help and support my dreams
You were always there to lend me support and to encourage me towards my goals
And you've encouraged me to see
You've encouraged me to believe in myself
And want so much more out of life
To strive for more out of life than what was expected of me
And you said never mind your fears,
You told me to not be afraid of my fears
Cause soon they will pass in time
Because they will eventually dissipate
And I want to thank you see cause
I want to thank you for all that you've done for me
All I am and all that I will ever be
Everything that I am and will be
Is because of you and I am proud to say
Is because of you and I'm grateful for it
That you helped make me into what I am today
You've helped shape me into who I am now
I applaud you for being so patient with me
I'm grateful for how patient you've been with me
No one else could do what you have done for me
No one else could have done what you've done for me
You mean the world to me (yeah)
You are everything to me
There were times when I was so
There were moments when I lost sight of your importance
Frustrated with you
And I was frustrated with you
I felt I didn't want you no more
I thought I didn't need you anymore
But then I realized
But then it occurred to me
That without you I would be so alone (yeah)
That I would be utterly alone without you
But I chose to deal with you,
I made the choice to continue dealing with you
Whether right or wrong and I'm so glad I did cause
Regardless of whether it was the right choice, I'm glad that I did because of all that you've done for me
See you cause and changed my life
You've been the catalyst that has changed my life
You turned an empty heart to work of art
You've turned my empty heart into a work of art
And open my eyes to the world
And have opened my eyes to the world
I would have never known, for that I'm grateful
I would never have known without you, and for that, I'm thankful
You are my pride and my joy
You are my source of pride and happiness
The closest thing to me next to the God above
You are the closest thing to me after God
And will forever be my first love
And you'll always be my first love
And I'm always gonna give my all to you
And I will always give you my all
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: IVAN BARIAS, TAALIB JOHNSON, CARVIN HAGGINS, JOHNNIE II SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind